Meet the Golden Girls
The pressing of olives to make olive oil dates back to 6000 BC. By the era of classical ancient Greece, when olive oil was already regarded as one of the most prized goods produced and traded across the Mediterranean, Homer wrote of it as “liquid gold” and Hippocrates called it “the great healer”. Olive oil was held sacred and revered by the ancient Greeks and Romans, not only for its application as food and overall positive affect on health, but also as a nutritive and enriching healing oil.
Today olive oil is a key household ingredient, but there is a growing issue with refined, counterfeit and big commodity olive oils. In fact, “studies have shown that there are not enough olive trees in the world to produce the amount of olive oil currently on our supermarket shelves. This is because olive oils are often blended with inferior seed oils that are highly inflammatory.” Knowing the production process of olive oil is essential as it can help customers identify the quality.
Because we are a family brand that prides ourselves on our raw and authentic production process, quality and storytelling, it was no surprise that it was love at first sight when meeting Greek-Australian sisters Katianna and Yianna Velos, co-creators of organic and extra virgin olive oil brand, Golden Groves. Authentic EVOO is truly liquid gold that enriches our palettes and simultaneously benefits our health. Join us on this insightful feature with Katianna and Yianna Velos and explore their pursuit for olive oil purity and their quality of life in all aspects.
The history and heritage of Golden Groves
Golden Groves is an ode to our Greek roots. It speaks to our experiences growing up spending the hot Mediterranean summer in our mother’s quintessentially Greek, quaint and largely undiscovered traditional fishing village. Olive oil is the lifeblood of the Mediterranean. Each family usually has its own fields passed from generation to generation, where they tend to the wise, old trees annually to produce this ancient liquid gold.
Olive oil has always been a commodity we have enjoyed and celebrated in abundance. We have loved sharing the joys that our olive oil has brought us, from heartfelt celebrations with family in Greece, to meals with friends all across Australia and beyond. Golden Groves is a piece of our Greek heritage, lovingly bottled for others to experience the magic of our family’s homeland.
How Family has influenced your oil making
Family is at the core of everything we do. After all, it is our family that taught us the Art of Living, which is our ethos at Golden Groves. Growing up, our parents and extended family showed they loved us through food. Putting a beautiful meal together is a labour of love, just as handpicking each koroneiki olive that is pressed into our family’s liquid gold.
Our olives are still handpicked and pressed by our uncle in our parent’s villages in Greece and that is what makes Golden Groves so special to us. Regardless of where we are in the world, or how far our family has traveled, we are always connected to our roots and are able to share this familial love with everyone that has the opportunity to indulge and experience the fruit of our liquid gold.
What makes extra virgin olive oil a virgin
Extra-virgin olive oil is derived from virgin oil production and from first pressing only. It also contains no more than 0.8% acidity (0.8 grams per 100 grams) and has a superior taste and health benefits, compared to other olive oils (i.e. virgin oil, refined olive oil).
What makes organic olive oil organic
Our olive oil is EU certified organic which means that there are stringent laws and audits in place to ensure our Extra Virgin olive oil is in fact, organic. Part of this EU organic practices and certification involves prohibiting the use of GMOs, limiting the use of artificial fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides and practicing crop rotation (i.e. one year our olive fields are producing oil, the next year they are not).
Certifying our olive oil as organic was very important to us as there is a huge issue with counterfeit olive oil. In fact, studies have shown that there are not enough olive trees in the world to produce the amount of olive oil currently on our supermarket shelves. This is because olive oils are often blended with inferior seed oils that are highly inflammatory.
Health benefits of EVOO
The health benefits of olive oil are countless! You don’t need to look further than the island of Ikaria, which has been labelled a blue zone for having one of the highest concentrations of centenarians in the world. One third of their daily calorific intake consists of calories from olive oil alone. The high level of antioxidants and polyphenols in cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil have been attributed to longevity, heart health, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer, just to name a few of the health benefits. That’s why it’s important to invest in the highest quality olive oil you can get - the properties of this food many of us eat every day can have a huge impact on your health!
People may not know but you can also use olive oil to
Hydrate your hair, your lips and skin! We put olive oil on absolutely everything! It’s a great hair mask (leave it in overnight), moisturise your legs and apply cream on top for extra moisturisation and apply a drop on your lips before applying your lip liner and watch how smoothly the pencil glides over your lips!
Secret to hosting a good party
Great food, even better company! We believe the food is only as good as the company you share it with. Being amongst people who share a zest for life and passion for food makes any dining experience more enjoyable. Food is what brings us together, it’s history, nostalgia and friendship all in one! A good olive oil martini and some great beats wouldn’t go astray either.
If you were to make only one dish using Golden Groves, what would it be
This is almost an impossible question but if we could only eat it one way, it would be freshly caught fish, chargrilled and filleted in half with a steaming hot “ladolemono” sauce which is just our olive oil, fresh lemon juice, dried oregano and salt and pepper over the top. Heavenly!
Where will you be pouring your passion into next
We have a number of exciting international endeavours this year with Golden Groves. Between Greece, Italy and the US, we hope to explore the intersection of food and fashion, and what the art of living well means for us as a brand, drawing inspiration from our Mediterranean roots.
We can we find you
- You can find us online at www.goldengrovesco.com
- or on Instagram @goldengrovesco
- We are also stocked at a number of choice retailers
- that we love and personally shop from!
- Please see a full list of our stockists on our website here.
